CHRISTMAS COMES TO FUTAKO-TAMAGAWA! Tis the Season in Tokyo!

Ho ho hodad! Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Last night, I went to Futako-Tamagawa to take in some of the sights at Rise, the shopping center just outside the train station. As you can see, it's already the Christmas season here in Japan!

ROGUE ONE! Seeing A Star Wars Story in Futako-Tamagawa!

Signage for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in the 109 Cinemas in Futako-Tamagawa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I was actually looking forward to seeing Rogue One. The trailer looked rather impressive to me, and the difference in tone from what we usually get in the Star Wars universe intrigued me. I was completely unimpressed with The Force Awakens, and given that this film seemed (superficially, anyway) to be the antithesis of TFA, I entered the theater with the notion that I'd end up enjoying the experience.

I wanna talk to somebody in charge...

I'm not sure the best way to begin, but I'll start by saying that I haven't been this bored by a movie in a long time. Halfway through, I gave up, and when I say that I gave up, I mean I completely checked out. I alternated between staring at the floor, the ceiling, my wrist in search of a watch that wasn't there -- anything but the screen. It was brutal. I can't remember the last time I cared so little about the characters or their actions in a film that I paid to see in a movie theater. As much as I disliked the rebooted Ghostbusters, I have to admit that it held my attention more than this flick did. Yeah, that's not good.

Gareth Edwards is 0-3 with me. But I will give the director credit for one thing. Visually, Rogue One was pretty amazing. I really liked how the film looked. Other than that, however, there just isn't much going on. The Force Awakens might have put me to sleep, but Rogue One made me wish I'd bought sleeping pills at the concession stand. Gotta have a little substance to go with my style.

Oh, and I laughed when I saw CGI Peter Cushing. It was never a convincing effect to me, and it turned the proceedings into a Bizarro World version of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Seriously, just stick to CGI aliens; they're much more believable.

I would have written more, but the Nostalgia Critic and the gang at Red Letter Media have already said everything I would have -- and much better than I could have. Watch their reviews, and you'll know more or less my reaction. When I left the theater, I figured I must have become a grumpy old curmudgeon somewhere along the way who has no time for these goofy blockbusters anymore, but I was relieved to find that I wasn't alone in my opinion.

Who knows, though. Maybe I'll like the next one.

SEEING STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS IN TOKYO! May the Futako Be with You!

Signage for Star Wars: The Force Awakens at a movie theater in Tokyo. Photo by Brett Homenick.

First, a confession. I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan in the world. In fact, I haven't seen a new Star Wars film since my brother took me to see The Phantom Menace in the summer of 1999. Unsurprisingly, I haven't been in any particular hurry to catch up on the franchise since then, but truth be told, I pretty much left Star Wars behind in my early teens.

Hey, look! It's Paddington, and he probably wants some marmalade! Photo by Brett Homenick.

Given all the hype (most of which seems to come from meme-sharing fans on Facebook), I finally broke down and went to see it at the 109 Cinemas in Futako-Tamagawa (hence the name of this blog post, in case you were wondering).

Even though the film has been out for a while in Japan, my screening (which was on a Tuesday afternoon) was nearly sold out, and I had to settle for a seat in the very first row. Hm... 

How come Star Wars doesn't offer any marmalade soda? Photo by Brett Homenick.

Interestingly, the teaser trailer for Shin Godzilla (a.k.a. Godzilla Resurgence) played before the film. If J.J. Abrams catches a screening of Star Wars in Japan, he'll probably be wondering why it took his flick Cloverfield so long to get released in Japan and why it's being called Godzilla. Suffice it to say, the teaser was as unimpressive to me on the big screen as it was on YouTube.

(Minor spoilers ahead)

As for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the movie had me up until those gloopy tentacled monsters showed up on the Millennium Falcon (at least that's where I think it was -- the characters moved around so much it was hard to keep track of where they were). Not only were they boring and nondescript, but they belonged in another movie. After that, well, I just had a "been there, done that" feeling until the last shot of the film, which was just as unsatisfying as anything else on the screen.

I'd give the movie about two out of four stars, but again, I'm not the target audience for this sort of thing. I've certainly seen movies a lot worse, but it could have been so much better.

IT'S STARTING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS! Futako-Tamagawa Gets into the Holiday Spirit!

Last night, I went to Futako-Tamagawa and saw this Christmas tree near the station. I was so impressed that I had to take a few photos. Here they are!

THAT'S A WRAP! La Shion Hosts an End of the Year Party!

The street view of La Shion, located in Futako-Tamagawa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

November 29 saw an end-of-the-year party take place at La Shion in Futako-Tamagawa. Readers of this blog will no doubt recall that this bar and restaurant is owned and operated by actor Shunichi Okita and his wife. Okita-san played Ichiro Yamanaka in Ultraman Ace (1972-73), and he also appeared in numerous films for studios like Toho and Nikkatsu throughout the 1960s and '70s.

In fact, during the party, Okita-san played an old TV show in which he appeared as a gun-toting criminal, holding terrified restaurant patrons hostage. Everyone in attendance got a kick out of seeing Okita-san work his magic 40 years ago!

Overall, it was a lively party with many new and old friends. A couple of English speakers were among the party-goers, and we all hung out together well past midnight. (Thankfully, I was able to catch the last train home!) I'd really like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Okita (pictured above) for their generosity and hospitality!